Anthropomorphic landscapes are a creation of a ficticious anthropology where the beings and ritual objects represented could have existed.  The names of the indigenous groups given in the descriptions of the objects are geographically similar to ones that could still be living today.  Juan Luis Quintana has visited numerous archeological and ethnographic museums in Europe and the Americas and thus has acquired his own aesthetics leading to the creation of these artistic and religious objects.

The artist found inspiration in the elements which he has developed into his own personal visión, whereupon he reflects on the profane and the sacred.  From Mexico City to the Baltic, passing through the pueblos of New Mexico, and seeing the inhabitants of the Caribean and Amazon, Quintana has delivered a simple world which no longer survives and in reality, has never existed.

Field of Totems

In various cultures tótems have been a tie of human beings to their ancestral roots.  By connecting forebearers to what lies beyond, tótems transcend reality.  Their sacredness is manifest when humans move from the material world connected to the family and the tribal origins to unite with the forces of the cosmos. 

Field of Totems is a sacred environment tied to the cosmos.  The Onaga Indians had areas in forests or protected zones whish were accesible only to the socerers of the tribe or to the general population on days of special celebrations.

The totem consists of a branch of a tree or a tree trunk fixed to the earth.  It serves as a spiritual antenna which connects earth and sky by bringing together the energies of the sky with mother earth.  The family roots are represented by  animals such as winged birds or other creatures which act as mediators between earth and sky

Cetrus Eolonauticus

Some decorations have a sacred purpose as is the case of this crown which the shamans of the Sagita wore on their heads to pacify the gods of the wind and hurricane.  Storms were very common in their part of the Carribean during certain periods of the year. 

The crown of all the Indian tribes connected the person who wore it with the forces of nature.  The rites of veneration and the sacrifice of a part of the harvest to the wind god who brought, rain, storms, or hurricanes had the misión of mitigating the intensity of the rain which was necessary for the crops.  

Reliquary

Cords

These cords made of  hemp  were covered with red pigment.  The Calumet Indians used them for ritual purposes to celebrate the hunt of buffalo in the great plains of the American West when herds of buffalo roamed from Utah to New Mexico.

Cetrus aromatiensis

The Saranoya Indians used cramic vessels to burn the seeds and branches of aromatic bushes to cure illnesses.  After the hard winter, spring festivals preserved the health of the tribe members and gave thanks for the new season.

Habitat

Tents were built of branches and trunks of bushes in areas.  Today it’s possible to find similar structures in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda in zones dedicated to the cultivation of bananas. 

Funeral Niche

Jacho Indians buried their dead in the fetal position in ceramic vessels in the manner of the Jibara tribes of the Amazon.  In preparation, the bodies were reduced in size so it was possible to place them in these vessels which were then sealed with vegetable resins.

Body Ornaments

These necklaces made of amber and birch bark were part of the clothing of the inhabitants of the North Baltic tribes, members of the Ugurus.  They wore such decorations  to celebrate the summer soltice with ritual fires at the beginning of the summer.  Men wore crowns made of branches.

Sacred Vessel

This vessel was used to celebrate sacrifices in honor of Teotitlican, God of the Winter sun.  The Aztecns tribes of the north of Mexico had this creation myth- there were four suns that competed for the seasons.  At the end of each soltice, a new sun devoured its rival in flames.

Divination Rods

By the motion of these rods, shamans could predict the future or intuit fortune.  They were used to determine if harvests would be successful or not.

List of Artworks title and technic:

1-  Campo de Totems. 57x51"(146x130 cm).Mixed Media Acrylic on canvas.
2-  Yellow tótems. 64x51" (162x130 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on canvas.
3-  Cetrus eolonauticus. 100x70. Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
4-  Relicario III. 39x28" (100x70 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
5-  Relicario. 51x45" (130x116 cm) Mixed Media Acrylic on canvas..
6-   Laces. 39x28" (100x70 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
7-   Cetrus aromatiensis. 39x28" (100x70 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
8-   Dweeling. 39x28" (100x70 cm) Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
9-   Ceramica indios jachos. 39x28" (100x70 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
10- Collares lugures. 39x28" (100x70 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
11- Vaso Aztecns. 39x28" (100x70 cm) . Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.
12- RamaZahori. 39x28" (100x70 cm). Mixed Media Acrylic on paper.

© Text and images Juan Luis Quintana

Translation in English Teresa Peipins